Register office

The government has confirmed that from Monday, 19 July 2021 step 4 in its plan for the relaxation of restrictions relating to the coronavirus comes into effect.

The council has a duty and responsibility to protect its staff and customers which means that there will still be some changes to register office services from Monday, 19 July. These are:

Opening Hours

We are open to the public between 10.00 am and 3.00 pm Monday to Friday for appointments. The staff are at the office and the telephone lines are open between 8.30 am and 4.45 pm (4.00 pm on Fridays)

Appointments

Registering a birth, death or giving notice of marriage/civil partnership is by appointment only. Death appointments are on the telephone only.

Birth and notice of marriage/civil partnership appointments require you to in person and cannot be done remotely or virtually.

Certificate Applications

Certificate applications is by online application only at our website.

It is currently not possible to visit the register office and apply in person for a standard £11.00 certificate, you must apply online for this service.

We do offer a premium same day certificate service of £35.00 per certificate if you need a copy certificate urgently. This requires an appointment to attend the register office.

Appointments are subject to availability which may vary each day dependent upon other services. Premium certificate appointments are not always available every day.

Citizenship ceremonies

Citizenship ceremonies are now returning to group ceremonies which will be held approximately every two months. Each citizen will be able to bring six guests with them.

Individual citizenship ceremonies are still available as an alternative but these are now chargeable at a fee of £140.00. You can also bring six guests with you to individual citizenship ceremonies.

Weddings

The maximum number of people who can attend a wedding at the register office is now the couple being married and 50 (fifty) guests.

More details about how we will be managing weddings to ensure that staff and guests are safe see the Weddings at the Register Office information sheet [pdf document].

Future Changes to weddings

Due to additional demands for use of the council chamber for meetings, there are plans to no longer use it as a wedding venue.

Weddings will relocate to an alternative room in the Town Hall, currently committee room no. 1, which has views of St Cuthbert’s Church and grounds.

At present we do not have a definite date when the move will occur or what the capacity will be, but the move will not be before autumn 2021.

If your wedding is likely to be impacted by the relocation then we will contact you as soon as further information is available.